Contents:
The cold, stony, unforgiving region Sir Francis Drake hoped to sell to his countrymen he poetically named Nova Albion: For centuries most every historian has bashed Roanoke as wholly failed and omitted discussion of Jamestown altogether, "eager to anoint Plymouth as the birthplace of America. Actually, in Tony's 42 page discussion of Jamestown he says more, better than the entire book on Jamestown which I reviewed here some months ago.
His canvas is not unlimited, but he paints well. In one rather sad interview he discusses the disappearance of Indian ways; that with a modern Algonquian who really does want modernity, but with the serenity of Indian life. His discussion of Plymouth is short but interesting, and he ends with the observation that there is history and then there is myth playing on the line from Who Shot Liberty Valance: Hanson undertakes the discussion in an altogether new fashion, integrating the war as fought on sea and land, city and countryside noting, chronologically, the relevance or lack there of of various battles within the war and their impact upon Greek civilization of the era.
He describes the civilization of the time, the logic behind and the manner in which battles were fought, the changing alliances within the adversarial camps. As well, he integrates the impact of various concomitant occurrences such as the plague epidemic early in the war, why it happened, and the carnage it wrought. A Gestaltist approach, you might say. Most of the noble families of Athens were devastated by the war, a majority of them perishing in combat or of the plague, leaving Athens without a ruling coterie, and which resulted in the ultimate destruction of Athens while setting the stage for conquest of all of Greece by Alexander.
Adjusting for population at the time, he observes that a similar ration of deaths would require that 40 million Americans perish in WWII, including the majority of its leaders and prominent citizens. In this vein he comments how different war is now than at the time, conceptually and destructively. He contemporizes that war with current war making. Whatever you have read about this conflict. No matter how convinced you are about the secular foundation of America, if you still believe that on completion of this tome it will have been accomplished by willful misunderstanding of the facts as exposed by Gelernter!
Gelernter was one of the first victims of the Unabomber , and suffered grievous wounds which left him badly crippled, but he has resurrected himself from the awful consequences of that act to become a well recognized writer, as he continues to be a noteworthy professor of computer technology. This is one of his best books; clear, concise, well written and meaningful. He refuses to apologize for the America most of us love , which pleased me immensely. This Jewish man begins with a message for the Christians of America: In so doing you gave mankind one of the greatest gifts it has ever received.
Do not allow yourselves to be spiritually disposed in your own homes! This country will never have an established, official religion; it will never abandon religious freedom. But neither should it be allowed to abandon its history and origins, or lie about them. Christians are rightly prohibited to preach Christianity in public schools; secularists should be prohibited to preach secularism, too!
While we are used to hearing that the basis of any Creed is philosophical, our creed is, at root, religious. Those of us who accept Americanism simply believe her principles to be true, not because anyone argued philosophically that this is so. He continues by showing how the Bible and Puritanism molded America, including the south--Anglicans notwithstanding. Indeed, as modern Puritan country becomes more liberal, the south stands strong. Further, contrary to received wisdom, America was founded by religious fanatics.
The Puritans were zealously dedicated to their God, but quite different from modern Islamic fanatics who murder as they claim to be doing God's work--"a slander on every religious believer who ever lived. Others are proud of their countries, but few are able to recite the principles upon which their nations were founded. Other countries are based upon shared descent or ethnicity, or were cobbled together by conquest or decree. America is more, and she is a biblical, not secular republic. Liberty, equality and democracy were ordained by God for all mankind; Americanism is humane in the best sense.
While you can believe in Americanism without believing in God, you cannot, without believing in man.
And you must not neglect the fact that America grew on "a strong Judeo-Christian stem, rooted in the rich, deep soil of the Bible. These and other facts are argued persuasively between the covers of this brilliant book, emphasizing that one of the all-important missing ingredients in American intellectuals' worldview today--and far too many of our young--is chivalry in its largest sense.
Chivalry itself is biblical and worthy of armed defense. Valor, honor, bravery and heroism are Godly causes, though most American intellectuals draw a blank when you mention these things. Traditional business, commerce and hard work are more reputable in America than in Europe--or in most of the rest of the world for that matter. Having learned at Plymouth Plantation that socialism didn't work, personal responsibility was found to encourage all hands to be industrious. Property, comfort, even honor were to be earned , not passed along by progenitors as was the case in Europe.
Most think the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution were rational, secular and "Enlightenment" in spirit. The cousins, Puritanism and American Zionism, were crucial. The first written constitution of modern democracy was inspired not by democratic Athens, or republican Rome, or Enlightenment philosophy or British commercial practice, but by a Puritan Thomas Hooker of Hartford, CT in preacher's interpretation of a verse in the Hebrew Bible: The foundation of authority is laid, firstly, in the free consent of the people.
He lectures on the religion of the founders as well as Lincoln, indicating that Lincoln's second Inaugural Address is the incandescent core of the American Religion. Abe "transformed Americanism into a full-fledged, mature religion--not by causing America to embody its noble ideals, but by teaching the nation that it ought to embody them. Lincoln achieved the completion of the creation of Americanism which exceeds mere patriotism and philosophic doctrine. He didn't Christianize America; rather, he Americanized Christianity.
His martyrdom was catastrophic, politically and in human terms, but in religions terms it sealed his achievement. He deserves to be remembered as the most important religions figure America has ever produced. At Gettysburg he commented on the new birth of America. In actuality it was the third birth: Gelernter goes on to review in some detail subsequent history, noting that the First World War authored the modern world, as it cemented American dominance of the world thereafter. As well it confirmed modern Americanism and with it, modern anti-Americanism. European nations tended to feel guilty, drifted toward pacifism and appeasement.
They learned that war was unthinkably awful, pacifism was mandatory, nationalism was dangerous and that world organizations like the League of Nations and the UN were mankind's only hope. Americans had no such crisis of conscience--"a hugely important fact that continues to shape world politics to this day. We helped the Allies to win, then came home to forget about it. That war was, in reality, the "semi-finals in a long match for world domination. Europe's passion for appeasement, born of WW I, is now back in vogue. Rather than challenge or defeat one's enemies, placate them and make them your friends.
More than a little of their disdain for America is that the American mainstream, with equal passion, studiously--even contemptuously--rejects appeasement. To understand the Vietnam War's effect on the U. American intellectuals responded by preaching appeasement and pacifism. Conservative Americans still believe in Americanism. Their attitudes are dominated by four falsehoods. He deals with each of these "falsehoods" in sufficient detail to justify the fact that they are false , as he emphasizes that they weren't necessarily wrongheaded during the war, but it now requires a mighty act of will to maintain such pristine ignorance.
Americans continue overwhelmingly to believe in God, much to the bemusement and frustration of the intellectual and secular classes. Ultimately morality can get no purchase without religion. Without divinity to hold on to, morality is like a first-time roller skater trying but failing to avoid falling. Secularists have left morality behind. They foresee a society where human rights replace human duties, where only the state has obligations as the bovine citizenry relaxes and permits the government to take care of everything. Secular ethics suggests that we must be "careful, and mature, and imaginative, and fair and nice, and lucky.
Nothing exhorts us to be generous or just, decent, honest or kind; gracious or merciful, patriotic or brave; loving or good. All of that is biblical, and part of the American Creed. Someday soon someone will remind this whole nation that tolerance is American but secularism is not. Absolute religious freedom is American but contempt for religion is not.
Religious doubt is American but religious indifference is not. Heated religious debate is American but cold academic disdain is not. Chivalry is American but complacency is not. Six cheers and a 42 gun salute for and to "Americanism. It is well worth the time, the effort and the indulgence. If you are not already so inclined you might even be moved to again love our country. And be willing to fight for it, by debate or by force of arms. America is indisputably worth it! Clary — ISBN — In reading this book I came to fully realize the difference between history written for historians and that read for the generally interested public—never mind the casually inclined.
This is a thoroughgoing explication of a truly fascinating relationship which I had never undertaken to study. While engaging, it includes extravagant discussions of minutiae which are not necessarily unimportant, but are much more pointedly directed at the thoroughgoing academic. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it, though I admit that I skimmed a lot of the middle of the book; even skipped pages from time to time. Too much detail for me. As well it points up how very much Lafayette actually did for the Revolutionary War; things I had never realized, which further enhance the value of reading such a tome.
He was truly a remarkable man and extremely important to our freedom. While the debt was eventually settled decades later thru land grants in the U. The book deals with many of the battles and the details involved therein, and is especially clear on how important Lafayette—in command of his own army—was to final victory at Yorktown. The book ends as the author explores how Lafayette shaped the French Revolution.
He was imprisoned, and nearly executed by the Jacobins, which was likewise newsworthy to this reviewer. It makes the sad adventure of the French Revolution a more easily understood event, and sheds a little light on the current conundrum in the middle-east. I recommend the book with those caveats. This is the next to the best spy story ever written; next, that is, to A Man Called Intrepid.
Newly issued in paperback, it is written by one of my recently discovered, most favored writers. As with Intrepid, Zigzag is a true story, so bizarre that it could never be conceived as a fictional plot, and if written no one would consider it believable! This book is every bit as good as any of them. Zigzag was one of the foremost British double agents of WWII, having infiltrated the upper levels of Nazi intelligence, and was trusted by all, including Hitler. Near the end of the war the Germans were giving him unbelievable assignments which clearly could not be accomplished, but they assigned them to him anyway, desperate as they were for success in the waning days of the Third Reich.
It wreaked havoc on the Germans, and they wanted it neutralized—removed from manufacture. Moreover, Eddie Chapman—Zigzag—was a common criminal actually a very uncommon one who was attracted to risk, danger, notoriety and fame. He was fearless, and imagined himself going down in flames by assassinating Hitler. Indeed, on more than one occasion the man interceded to save him from undue harassment when the SS was trying to break him.
Many years later—both presuming the other to be dead—they resurrected their friendship. As an amorous and high testosterone male he had many affairs, not unlike Fleming likely stole a little from Zigzag when modeling himself. New in paper, the title announces quite well the subject: It was one of the more important battles of the year war because a substantial number of French aristocrats were killed or captured on the field even though the French outnumbered the English by as many as 4: The French had long memories of defeat by the long-bowmen beginning with Crecy in There, as at Agincourt, the English were outnumbered and the French lost miserably.
The "Frogs" were ready for a smashing victory over the "Goddamns"--the French epithet for the English. Still they feared them greatly. Victory was due in large measure, again, to the English bowmen, though Henry's brilliant tactics and French hubris were important features. Further, the French King was marginal and probably insane, so the French were led by a committee of nobles; never a good plan. The English army had just finished a prolonged siege at Harfleur, was sick from weeks in back-country, tired from a long and tortuous march, short on food, and deprived of all physical comfort.
The French force, estimated at 30, men, appeared certain to overwhelm their hungry, exhausted opponent fielding a piddling 7, As anticipated, Cornwell's narrative is outstanding. As the "reigning king of historical fiction" he never disappoints. The history is accurate, the research in depth, and the descriptions of battle and interaction of the combatants are superb. One comes close to feeling present at the scene, which is always this author's forte.
As a stand alone volume it is nice to be done with the story in one sitting. It is frustrating to wait a year between volumes, especially so with his most recent series on Alfred the Great, a multi-volume series begun in , now at volume five, and as yet incomplete. I'd rather wait until he finishes a series before I begin to read it. He tells the tale thru the experiences and the eyes of the archer. His principal protagonist is an extremely skilled peasant archer who moves up thru the ranks based upon that skill; a talented, muscular man whom you'd prefer to fight next to, rather than in opposition.
It took years to master the art of handling such a weapon, and most armies simply could not produce such yeoman archers in sufficient numbers to matter. The decline of the armored Knight is attributable in considerable measure to this formidable weapon. Great read; interesting history; and we enter the book knowing who won, but the trip down history's lane is fascinating. This book is a stunning achievement. In little more than pages Brookhiser chronicles the life and contributions of Hamilton, ranking him amongst the most important of the founding fathers.
Oft overlooked and unappreciated, the author undertakes to correct that, and does it very well. More than any of his contemporaries Hamilton was responsible for the emergence of the country as the most important economic and military power on the globe. As well, he contributed to the abolition of slavery. In recent years a number of biographies have been written. I believe this to be one of the best because it is succinct, well drawn, and complete with interpretations which help the reader to know and appreciate Hamilton.
His greatness was much related to the plainness of his ideation. He was, of course, brilliant. Functioning as the first Secretary of the Treasury these were his most important contributions. Hamilton was adamant about honor which is what got him killed , and of honoring debt fully. He almost single-handedly created modern entrepreneurial capitalism, though it was not then known as such. This caused him to seriously consider alternative approaches to prosperity.
Having raised himself from poverty he never forgot that economies are about the people who work in them. This promulgated his thoughts about labor and industry which were more dynamic, detailed and creative. His misgivings about the French Revolution are explored, along with his activities in our own revolution; especially interesting is how they demonstrate his character development.
Principally, he was a successful lawyer who argued many important cases. Many helped shape the laws in this country. In these endeavors he was anything but moderate. He worked at being an American, and better defined what he thought that to be than many others, and throughout his life he remained an idealist. Three cheers and twenty-one guns for Alex. I encourage you to read this rewarding and brief bio. Perhaps the most telling comment about this book is that made by Prince Turki al-Faisal, long-time ambassador to the U. Do we in the West have the will to prevail?
Steyn strips away intellectual rust and PC rot to uncover the writing on the wall. America Alone will open your eyes.
The book is equal parts enlightening and frightening, with humor and horror; an oft anamnestic peroration on our cultural amnesia. Matt Parris, writing for the U. Spectator , observed that, in the end it will be America against the rest of the world, then asked: Problems in a hospital in Oakland? That would be the Centers for Disease Control, in Atlanta. Same for hospitals in Toronto, Delhi, Beijing or Stockholm for that matter.
So, who will they call if we lose? Demographically he shows that Muslims are rapidly colonizing Europe. With them comes Islam--and with that, Wahhabist radical Islam. Remember the van Gogh murder a couple of years ago? And the Dutch cartoon brouhaha or the conflagrations in the bidonvilles of France last year? The Europeans are under-breeding themselves out of existence with averages of 1. Every generation of continentals is little over half of the prior, with the Muslims nearly doubling their cadre.
How long will this go on before they are the majority? And, do they really need to be the majority to sway the populations of Italy, Germany, France, Sweden and the low countries? Certainly they impacted Spain, Denmark and Holland where Muslim immigrants are less numerous. While Europe decays Russia is dying at a much faster rate. There appears to be a question as to which Muslim country will be first to get the bomb? Will it be Iran? Muslims refuse to integrate, preferring their own to Western culture. Islam and Jihad are political forces in ways that Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism never were.
All of it fascinating and well presented. I can only plead with you to read it. Western multiculturalists parrot that all cultures are equal, but find me one who would choose to live anywhere outside the West. When France falls some can move to Canada or the U. True stories of gallant people who have made this country great.
All are about uncommon valor under trying--even devastating circumstances. All are well told. I was not aware that the Boston Tea Party was a quite pacific affair, uneventful except for the outcome, and I was particularly taken by the loquacity, elegance and sophistication of the writings of Daniel Boone—always considered, by me at least, to be quite a rustic. It is a remarkable and captivating book best read in short, quiet times to better absorb and enjoy the recanting of one or two of the events which helped make us who we are, and of the heroic people in our history.
It's time to review an old book again; one which might well interest you. This one is no longer in print, but can be found online for a dollar or two. It is a seminal treatise, both concise and comprehensive in that Goodman discusses the subject in lay terms, with brevity and interest, without encumbering the dialog with myriad and confusing details. His hypothesis, as well documented as possible, is that Homo sapiens sapiens actually evolved in the Americas—probably California—and spread around the globe from there.
All of which suggests that we may be over 1,, years old as a species, not the , years or less which is commonly supposed. It reminds of the now defeated argument that no European came to the Americas before Columbus. N body B efore C olumbus as the acronym reads. Now, of course, we know that Norsemen were here, and there is strong belief that others came in earlier times. Most interesting is the datum offered that Cro-Magnon had very exquisite and distinctive flint points and other tools when they appeared suddenly, from nowhere, in Spain at the end of the last ice age.
Strange that points and tools have been found in the American Southwest which are identical to those of Cro-Magnon, and , years older. As well, Cro-Magnon skeletons look a lot like modern day Southwestern Indians! Another fascinating discussion is Hopi Indian legend involving their three past worlds, destroyed first by fire volcanos , they by ice glaciers and finally by water flooding ; strangely consistent with what now appears to be worth serious consideration.
The scenario is, however, geologically impossible if their civilization is not at least , years old. Their legend also states that they came from afar, from a land in the Pacific which is now submerged. The most interesting discussions by far deal with the domestication of animals, the development of agriculture, and their advanced medical skills.
Much derided until recently, the Amerinds now appear clearly to have been grinding grain which one presumes they cultivated at least , years ago, hybridized maize corn so long ago that no natural related plant now exists, freeze dried vegetables tens of thousands of years before this was done in Eurasia, rode horses before they became extinct in the Americas 10, years ago, and practiced holistic medicine which included antibiotics for infections, digitalis for heart disease, quinine for malaria, Vitamin C for scurvy, aspirin for pain, cocaine for hypesthesia, splinted fractures, performed trephination, removed cataracts, and even practiced psychiatry, after a fashion, by recognizing and treating psychosomatic illnesses.
The book begins with the full transcription of Wallace's presentation at the . The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton. In this book, Simonetta Carr introduces young readers to the life and ministry of The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton.
I found especially remarkable the fact that they had hybridized amaranth, and grew it in sufficient quantities to feed hundreds of thousands of people before the Spanish made them quit. Recently we have rediscovered this cereal grain and it offers the possibility of resolving malnutrition worldwide. It is hardy, drought resistant, grows nearly everywhere, and has just about all of the things humans need to stay healthy.
It is especially interesting to me because Indians in the South American rainforests are only recently known to have developed elevated farm plots in these miserable soils. They are not yet understood, but they involved "charcoaling" certain plants with fire, which, when mixed with the soils, retains nutrients for a century. These vast acreages also supported millions of people where only a few now eke out an existence--because it is a forgotten technology.
Apparently when the Conquistadors discovered these Amerinds, they annihilated them with battle, disease, etc. A new approach to history, indeed. Keller neatly separates our political history into three categories, distinct from one another, and distinctly different. The founders were driven to avoid the imperialism of England, establishing a deferential-republican period, long on independence and short on central control. Old world revolutions were bloody carnage, with religious intolerance, intrigue, poisonings, treason, and executions—even kings. The miserable life predicated upon this was amongst the important reasons the colonists came to America in the first place, to escape overpopulation, poverty, crowded cities, disease, aristocratic conspiracies, oppression and death for any number of reasons.
America offered an opportunity for a new life to both rich and poor. Over years Englishmen and others became American, and a new world was founded upon freedom and responsible democracy. The contrast instructed our founding intellects what to avoid. The rational tumult was also informed by understandings of market economics--formalized by Adam Smith--and the recognition of the rights of man, by others. He does, however, differentiate between early politics. Further, he concludes that the power of the later party system, and the requirements of mass politics, mitigated against the selection of the best and the brightest for office which is increasingly apparent in recent years!
The history of each period is covered comprehensively. At the end of the first period Tocqueville spent several years observing and many more writing about the country, explaining to Europeans—and Americans—what had been wrought.. He observes that by the middle of the 19th century the American character type was recognized internationally: Not incidentally, along the way the problem of slavery was confronted with a bloody if definitive resolution, yet it hardly impacted upon governance. Throughout, there is a fulsome discussion of the body and tangents of these concepts and divisions.
Nonetheless it is done in a non-academic and informative way which reads comfortably, without an overindulgence in esoteric facts. It is history, after all, and worth the read for those inclined. He, like many on the right, strongly favors the war in Iraq. His attitude might bother some, but it is not a reason to avoid this historically significant and interesting book, written for the average reader.
He begins by reviewing not only the attitudes of our military, but their origins, and further emphasizes that our armies have always reflected our population, as do its casualties. Even Northeast sent its best to war until the 20th century, and Hollywood sent its best until Viet Nam. Life, charity and human worth are represented differently than in most.
We never trade the lives of our military for positive press. The Philippines were insignificant militarily. He reviews the Vietnam and Iraq wars quite differently than you will read most places, and opines that we could, and should have won in Viet Nam. Even with our departure the South Vietnamese could have prevailed had congress not defunded them.
That and what happened in Viet Nam and Cambodia after we abandoned them. The book is full of vignettes of battle which explain the value of our sophisticated weaponry as well as the training, skill and independence private enterprise of the men who use them. He is harsh on the anti-war demonstrators, noting that their violence is hardly pacific, and observes that this carping drives our military to be even more cautious, more lethal, and more protective of ourselves and innocent life on the other side ; precisely the opposite of the intention.
Of course there is some cruelty. It is, after all, war, and every war includes some. In fact, they have no rules to break and are held to no visible standard. Still, if you were a prisoner would you rather be beheaded, or held on a leash by a female Non-Com? Ironically it is apparent that they prefer beheading. Death before dishonor has a peculiar, non-Western ring amongst Muslims. He demolishes the Left by documenting that the Soviets feared it above all else.
Determinate attitudes of Americans which prohibit losing wars are explicated. We abhor war, want it to be over quickly, value all human life, and are prepared to do what we must to win. The front line soldier wanted it to be terminated by the physical process of his destroying enough Germans to end it. He was truly at war. Eisenhower once commented that Hitler should be wary of an enraged democracy. Now we seem to have forgotten. I sincerely hope that he is correct.
I am not confident that the West has the will to validate itself, thus to prevail. The collective we is insufficiently vocal about the value of our culture, and increasingly irresolute recently. That has to change before we can rise to our defense. At a little over pages, even a lengthy report would still fail to cover much of the ground. And who better to explain the French to an American than an enlightened Frenchman who loves America? The continental conviction of inherent French and European sophistication and superiority is vigorously debunked as he emphasizes that the evil, criminal ideologies of the 20th century were all invented entirely within Europe, and required the U.
French political activists have become: By yelling slogans, they afford themselves the illusion of thought , and by trashing cities and striving to stymie international gatherings, they provide themselves with the illusion of action. Unfortunately, much of the American Left agrees!
A lengthy discussion of the situation with Islamic terror, and its relevance to his subject is included in this book. He summarizes the opinions of numerous authorities who repudiate the myth of moderate Islam, and goes on to point out that the bulk of Muslims approve of terrorism. Muslim support for the fatwa was near universal, even in Britain and France. They seem not to.
All cultures are equal, it seems, but France is the appropriate source and model for the world. As in The Animal Farm, they are more equal than others. And anticipating becoming the pigs? The European inability to formulate a strategy to fight explains their attitudes about American unilateralism. They believe that democracies, rightfully, can neither criticize nor contain totalitarian regimes.
These same sophists refuse to accept that this is a battle for civilization, and will not acknowledge the inherent superiority of Western civilization. By refusing to deal with reality the Continentals leave the U. Americans have been--and are today--useful to Europe as a calming explication of its failures. The belief that America always does less well than they do is comforting to them. As is his usual, this is a most readable book; clever, informed and interesting. Of that he is guilty--and misleading from time to time as well, but it is still a satisfying and knowledgeable tour.
The idea promulgated is that, as he walks thru his house--built in the early 19th century as a church rectory--he identifies each room and relates activities which occur therein. He offers historic facts and observations relevant to each room visited; trouble is, he often digresses into wildly tangential discussions which bear no relevance to the room being toured, and some are only vaguely concerned with the subject of home. Said disquisitions are, however, well researched and captivating, as is his exploration of the comforts of the rural pastorate at the time of construction of his home.
One if his most interesting forays into the unrelated is the notation that ancient parish churches are often several feet below ambient ground level. There have been many thousands of people buried in the same confined area over hundreds of years, and the cumulative detritus of these multiple burials has raised ground level. In The Scullery and Larder he mentions that in addition to distilling spirits and brewing, most all of the household items were manufactured on site: It is hard to imagine an age when none of these were available commercially.
When discussing electricity he comments that it came to the rich much later than to the middling classes. Incidentally, the middle classes did not exist until the midth century. The rich had servants to tend the lamps, trim the wicks and clean the chimneys, etc. Keep in mind he's discussing his home, located in Great Britain.
While not irrelevant--produce, that is--he omits any and all discussion the "cellaring" of root vegetables or the storage of other such items in the cellar. That along with most other things for which a cellar is used. His discussion of stairs is fascinating, as is his diversion into the invention and uses of wallpaper at the time. Such papers contained significant quantities of arsenic, making manufacture and hanging of it an occupational hazard.
The most expensive color was verdigris, "made by hanging copper strips over a vat of horse dung and vinegar and then scraping off the oxidized copper which resulted. He quite often detours into the arcane: Obviously, any discussion of The Attic would be incomplete without explaining estate and death taxes, which began at eight percent on estates valued at over one million pounds. By WW II they were up to sixty percent, which explains why there are few large estates remaining.
Eventually Stonehenge was saved and preserved, but it was almost leveled for its rocks and surrounding fields. Discussions of The Bathroom and related hygienic topics are especially fruitful. In an English physician actually wrote a book on how to bathe. Even now the English--indeed Europeans--are not all that keen on bathing; their toilet paper is kin to pages of a Sears catalogue if not as slick and shiny. And he manages to get into an absorbing discussion of the invention of modern porcelain.
The Dressing Room is introduced by a several page discussion of the famous year old, frozen corpse which emerged from a melting glacier and became famous as "The Iceman. Obviously the discussion brought up the subject of cotton and, thus, Whitney's gin which reinvigorated slavery in America's south, paving the way to the Civil War.
This exquisitely compelling first person account is written by a Lebanese Christian whose country was overtaken by Islam when she was ten. She lived thru the Muslim conquest of her country. After having been buried alive by the authoring shots of that war she and her family lived in a claustrophobic dugout bomb shelter with no amenities for 7 years, sometimes eating boiled grass to survive.
Lebanon, she reminds, was a beneficent and beautiful place; peaceful, westernized and multi-cultural with a well balanced democratic government divided between Christians and the several Islamic sects. Beirut was considered Paris in the Middle-East. Eventually, however, the Islamic sects joined together for their version of the holocaust. Those Christians who survived were driven to emigrate. As an American, now, she points up the parallels and insists that it is clear that we are next.
A commonly expressed Arabic adage: They are aware than when America falls, so will the Western world. Only the willfully blind can disagree. How can one be so sure? Just take them at their word. Disabuse yourself of logic and the liberal propensity to believe that no one can be that evil! Their counter-claim is that they abhor violence, but when was the last CAIR sponsored million Muslim march to protest terror?
The Koran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth. More curiously, why does he get by with this? Doubt it, but maybe. A particularly intense chapter is that titled Societies are Not Created Equal. Here, and throughout the book, she goes to extraordinary lengths to emphasize reality.
They invest little in real schools, and almost nothing into industry. Most of the money is in the hands of the royal families and their cronies. They are simply practicing Muslims. They are not the extreme, they are the mainstream. Excuse me, did I say something not quite PC? Instead, the Arab world has chosen to fertilize the land with the blood of Israeli children. Could anything be more barbaric and depraved? Well, as a matter of fact. Now they wrap their children in dynamite and nails and send them to blow themselves up.
In past years I have recommended The Sword of the Prophet as the single best book to read on the subject. With the appearance of this offering I have changed my recommendation. As a foil I recommend Three Cups of Tea , recently reviewed. That book demonstrates that modern education is mandatory if the West is to survive and prevail. This book graphically demonstrates that we must first defeat, or at least severely compromise them before they can be meaningfully educated on a mass scale. You have to convert some of them. I still believe that!
This is an interesting, "fun read," highlighting several well known Civil War combatants beside a larger group of lesser lights: Further, it deals with activities not widely reported. As such there is remarkable information which, while not trivial, is certainly beyond the awareness of most of us, and likely more than a few Civil War buffs.
It was curious to find chapters about the Southern cavalry greats Mosby and Stuart, and lesser knowns including Ashby and Gilmor, with nary a mention of Sheridan or any northern horsemen. Perhaps those Yankees never made it to the south? Or "behind enemy lines? Reminiscent of the New York Times in recent decades, Jones comments that "Had Confederate commanders placed spies on the staffs of their adversaries, they probably would not have had any better information than that supplied by the Northern press.
Rather, it just distributed news fit to print; comprehensively, albeit imprudently. As well, he informs that early in that era spying was considered ungentlemanly and beneath the dignity of honest combatants, though that position changed later in the war. The first to implement "all out war" were the Confederates, having determined it would require this compromising step to have any chance of winning. His discussions of the irregulars and the guerrillas emphasize that these combatants were incredibly vicious--well beyond the pale at times--and strenuously criticized by both Confederate and Union commanders.
Indeed, many were derided and decommissioned, though they seldom quit fighting and couldn't really be disciplined. Along the way there are discussions of support by the citizenry, many of whom suffered as a result of their support, though many were driven to it by the activities of the adversaries: Several chapters are devoted to the recantation of the activities of the most famous of these brigands.
Discussions of the Pinkertons--already prominent as a result of their railroad activities--are also of interest. They became quite famous as a result of their war contributions; even more so after the war with the blossoming of the Quantrill, James and Younger "gangs" of robbers. These, too, along with a few additional miscreants are discussed in interesting if abbreviated detail. The book is well written and rather unusual. While it's not about seminal details, neither does it dabble in the arcane. Posted by Curmudgeon at 4: This little book is brilliantly and lovingly written, and a light while informative work which everyone ought to read.
While biographical, it deals more heavily with the latter years of Dr. There is sufficient detail about his activities pre-and post-revolutionary to inform the reader of just how pivotal he was, and it offers sufficient personal information about him in order for the reader to become familiar with Franklin, the man: Also interesting are the unfulfilled ideas which Franklin had about how the union ought to be: The best short biography of Franklin ever written.
He is highly regarded by most everyone except the Library Journal , including most of his adversaries. He writes knowledgeably, with incredible clarity—not to mention wisdom and wit. This volume is a panoply of his breadth and skill, and recalls in part writings in others of his books. Identical approaches, which propel them to success in adopted cultures, make then anathema in all.
History , in which he dispels the myth that black education is necessarily second rate. Numerous examples in historic times and places are recanted wherein blacks have not only succeeded but excelled in black schools--even in Washington D. C—but in another time e. Dunbar High School, then as now a ghetto school. That was before liberals took over the establishment and began making damaging changes while offering ridiculous excuses. At one time Dunbar graduates were not required to take entrance examinations at Dartmouth, Harvard and other selective colleges.
These are stunning data which liberals succeed in burying as information regarding the historic success of some black institutions. It can be done.
It has been done! In fact, they were opposed, and struggled with the conundrum of how to rid the U. Should slave owners be compensated; if so, by whom? Could the two races live together compatibly? Emigration was a consideration but should it be voluntary or mandatory? Slavery was a centuries old wrong which could not easily be righted.
Numerous tangents are considered. He enquires into the rather bizarre fact that moral questions about slavery are almost exclusively Western moral questions, yet the West is always the one savaged because of their history of slavery. Non-Western societies had and still have little moral concern about slavery. He emphasizes that it was Western imperialism which suppressed slavery around the world.
There are those omnipresent little problems, such as human nature. From time immemorial it has been backward, dismissive of education, prone to violence, sexually permissive, improvident, drunken, reckless and totally lacking in entrepreneurship. If you doubt, or offended by these observations, read the book! He confirms this in spades! What liberals wish to encourage and sustain in modern blacks is, in fact, indigenous white culture imported into the South from Europe, and which had existed for centuries before their migration.
Yet clearly neither racial discrimination nor racial inferiority can explain similar differences between whites in the North and the South in earlier centuries. This is a fascinating tome and a great introduction to Thomas Sowell for those of you unfamiliar with genius of this man who, by the way, is black and completely self-made. The power of thinking without thinking.
This is a particularly fascinating book; better, I think, and most certainly different from Tipping Point. As the title suggests, he elaborates upon the things we do--in the blink of an eye, so to speak--which are based upon experience rather than thought. He calls those based upon thoughtful consideration paralysis by analysis. As a consequence of too much data we often confuse information with understanding. Judgment is often better than cautious deliberation. That it is precisely what got us into trouble in the Middle East!!! I have had similar experiences in medicine, wherein too much information is brought to bear upon a problem.
Confusion, indecision and error result. Frequently the true expert notices not just what is happening, but more importantly what is not! Indeed, I was once derisively accused I was flattered! He demonstrates that the true expert at reading body language can often determine things the subject is trying to hide.
This section of the book is particularly absorbing. It is what is going on in your mind, and completely involuntary. He reviews what is known of autism, noting that such individuals have no insight into themselves or others. To them everything is an object.
In times of crisis normal people are programmed to objectify risks. A truly brilliant discussion follows, using the Dialo case, in which the NYPD officers shot and killed an innocent black immigrant. One can learn to avoid such errant, dangerous behavior. He then reviews symphony orchestral auditions. In recent years the performer sits behind a screen, forcing the auditors to listen to the performance. I love his observations in that regard: Before screens, what might we have proposed for women in the musical world?
We would have had long discussions about social discrimination. Our suggestions for change would have been fairly global and long term. In summary he observes that following the acquisitions of a lifetime of learning we acquire judgment. With the knowledge accrued, and knowing how the mind works , we should then be able to act responsibly. He heartily recommends that we do so. If we combined all of the little things we know, making appropriate changes based upon knowledge and insight, the world would be different and better.
He has a point, and makes it very well. For those who require a reminder, Chamberlain was the professor become soldier whose regiment, the 20th Maine, shouldered the defense of Little Round Top on the second day of the battle at Gettysburg.
He achieved the rank of General, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his activities there, and was at Appomattox to accept the surrender of the Southern Army under Robert E. This is his description of the brilliant battle for Little Round Top, the indisputable turning point of the Civil War. It is brief, gripping—indeed exhilarating—and well worth the few minutes it takes to read. For the buffs there is no need to describe the battle, though it is worth reading in the first person, and for the uninitiated it is a brief and definitive treatise on the subject.
As such it ought to be read. But, also as usual, he is entertaining and savagely funny. This time he skewers politicians—justly deserved—with the primary plot involving the need to correct the bankrupting deficiencies of the Social Security system. To this end he manipulates every situation offered. He uses his influence to get her a job with a lobbyist, and she becomes an advocate for many things, principal amongst them the dissolution—or at least the alteration--of Social Security.
Along the way she gives up further education as she begins an affair with him. So wends the tale, thru lobbying, politics, intrigue, skullduggery, manipulation, sabotage and the extramarital affair.
The only caveat I offer regarding this particular novel is that he seems unable to end the tome cleanly and interestingly as he usually does. Not as satisfying as his usual fare, but funny nonetheless. This is another fascinating, instructive and well written book. They claimed lands no Englishman wanted, and served as a buffer between the original settlers and the understandably hostile Indian population. Fiercely independent and deeply religious, they bent their knee and bowed their head to no one but their God.
Grant and Ronald Reagan; and fierce warriors of the same breed: Wallace, Jackson, Grant and Patton all earned renown by winning the allegiance of their countrymen thru their insistence upon unquestioned equality, loyalty and their leadership and performance on the battlefield. For it is not for glory we fight, for riches, or for honors, but for freedom alone, which no good man loses but with his life.
No review can do this book justice. Read it and you will better understand the origins of the humility of our seriously religious population, and the fierce American independence we cherish. It is a riveting and exciting book to read; one well worth the time. I have reread it already! This is an extremely interesting book of which I would have been unaware had it not been given to me by a customer and friend. Filipo Brunellieschi was a 15th century goldsmith who invigorated architecture and almost single-handedly brought architects from the status of mere day-laborer to the level of respected artisan; indeed, the only European architect of his time to gain fame in his own lifetime, which fame has endured to the present because of his incredible genius.
It was this recognition which permitted subsequent architects such as Christopher Wren to be honor able. Along the way this capomaestro rediscovered Roman mortar and recreated lost building techniques, while adding a host of his own creations to the craft. In fact, his grave was lost beneath the paved central aisle for over years until rediscovered in A dreamer drew an idealized sketch for this almost impossible octagonal dome, and against all odds Filipo was able to render it buildable, and built it, taking over 25 years to do so, dying only a year or so before the cupola was completed.
In so doing he constructed the largest masonry dome of its-- and all --time. It remains the largest free-span dome in the world. Only with modernity, new building materials, techniques and equipment has it been surpassed by the superdome s. It is larger than St. At the top the angle is 30 degrees from perpendicular, despite which it was built without centering scaffolding to support it while under construction. This alone was ingenious. When an elderly Michelangelo was designing the dome for St.
The dome is estimated to have taken 37, tons of stone, brick and mortar, and the lantern itself adds another tons. Atop all of that was a huge bronze ball with a Christian cross. He had to revolutionize architecture to accomplish this. Furthermore, he had to design and build wooden machine cranes ft. Worse, this had to be done when navies were going abroad to find ft.
Masons had to climb 42 stories of steps just to get to work at the top! Must have been in great shape. And they took their lunch along with them in the morning—no great surprise there. As he was building the dome he left iron rings in the mortar so that the fresco which he knew would follow had moorings for the scaffolding which would be required. King laces the entire narrative with anecdotes about the builder and his friends and enemies which make the story more interesting, and he emphasizes that the height and openness of this magnificent dome were critical to the mathematical studies made by another sage in pursuit if improving the accuracy of determinations of longitude and latitude which made sailing in the open ocean safe, and indirectly resulted in the discovery of the admittedly not lost new world only a few years later.
Neil Postman was a humanist, professor, media theorist, cultural critic and dynamic author for over forty years, and most famous for Amusing Ourselves to Death --a critique of television. But he also wrote numerous other tracts, my favorite of which is here introduced. He adamantly observed in Technopoly , that "new technology can never substitute for human values.
He is certainly one of the most astute and knowledgeable social commentators of this or any era. Wisdom is the capacity to know what body of knowledge is relevant to the solution of significant problems. Adam Messer looks at the patristic evidence of "nor the Son" in Matthew Philip Miller wrestles with whether the least orthodox reading should be a valid principle for determining the autographic text.
Matthew Morgan focuses attention on the only two Greek manuscripts that have a potentially Sabellian reading in John 1: Timothy Ricchuiti tackles the textual history of the Gospel of Thomas, examining the Coptic text and the three Greek fragments, using internal evidence in order to determine the earliest stratum of Thomas.
Brian Wright thoroughly examines the textual reliability of the passages in which Jesus appears to be called God, concluding that the textual proof of the designation theos as applied to Jesus in the NT merely confirms what other grounds have already established. Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament will be a valuable resource for those working in textual criticism, early Christianity, New Testament apocrypha, and patristics.
En annan Alice Liane Moriarty. Ed Komoszewski , M. James Sawyer , Daniel B. Semantics and Significance Daniel B. Wallace , Grant Edwards.